Gauntlet Dark Legacy

Gauntlet Dark Legacy is a direct sequel to Gauntlet Legends, expanding its concept with four additional playable characters added to the original quartet of warrior, sorceress, elf, and dwarf. The roster now also includes a knight, a valkyrie, a dwarf warrior woman, and a wizard, each with their own set of attacks and special abilities, which greatly widens the possibilities for putting together a four-player group at a single cabinet and dividing roles between ranged attack, melee, and support. The gameplay stays true to its predecessor: endless waves of monsters, gradual character upgrades, and a race against time that drains the player's health and forces them to keep an eye on their food supply along the way.

Dark Legacy also adds new game modes beyond the main campaign, including arena battles pitting players against each other and the so-called Trials of Might, a set of standalone challenges separate from the story levels that emphasize speed and precision over story progression. The graphics and maze themes received a noticeable visual upgrade over Legends, with more colorful and varied environments ranging from icy caves to oriental temples, and boss fights are more spectacular too, requiring more tactics than simply mashing the attack button. For the arcade version, this mainly meant more content to spend coins on and more reasons to keep coming back to the same machine even after finishing Legends, whether for the new characters or to compete in Trials of Might. Having eight characters instead of four also changes how a group of players pushes through the maze, since there are now far more possible ability combinations, and few four-character lineups will play exactly like the last one.

Why play it: Anyone who enjoyed Legends and wants more characters, new modes, and more elaborate mazes in the same arcade style will find in Dark Legacy a logical, content-richer sequel rather than a mere rehash - all it takes is one good reason to sit down at the cabinet for another hour.